I'm just wondering if anyone has used a Naturopathic Doctor for managing allergies and asthma in their children (or themselves)? We have to wait a year to see an allergist for DS1, but I really would like to get the asthma under control by eliminating the cause (which we can't pinpoint) now. Someone mentioned to me yesterday that they had success using a naturopath. I really like the idea of naturopaths, but I am very skeptical about some of their methods. I also believe that they should work closely with medical doctors to achieve the best results, and I think our GP would be open to that, but I'm not 100% sure a Naturopath would.

Is there anything I need to watch out for if I choose to go this route? Anyone have any recommendations for a pediatric naturopath in Calgary?

I'm at the point where we are looking at going to the US and shelling out $1000s to get this under control. A naturopath would be a lot cheaper if it works!

Ask to be put on the allergists cancelation list. You'll get in faster.

There may be some benefits in some circumstances to naturopathic treatments, but at Allergic Living the opinion is that too much of the "alternative" advice in allergy is not science-based and has the potential to be harmful if not deadly to those with allergic conditions, which are diseases of the immune system.

As we say in the Intolerances sticky of this forum, intolerances may be discussed in that thread, but we will not be weighing the pros and cons of naturopathic medicine on this site.

I am on the cancellation list at the allergy clinic, and I have been for almost 3 months. I called them in early June to see if they had the referral, that is when DS's appointment was made and he was put on the cancellation list. The clinic said the chances are low of getting in before January, even being on the cancellation list.

I don't intend to start a debate, I am just trying to gather information on Natural Medicine. If you can point me in the right direction of some of the science based articles on Natural medicine and allergies/asthma, I would really appreciate it. I realize the internet is full of incorrect information and I don't know where to go to get the good information.

If you prefer to not have this discussed on the forums at all, I respect that and feel free to delete this thread. Please PM me if you do have any information!

The World Wide Web offers information and data from all over the world. Because so much information is available, and because that information can appear to be fairly “anonymous”, it is necessary to develop skills to evaluate what you find. When you use a research or academic library, the books, journals and other resources have already been evaluated by scholars, publishers and librarians. Every resource you find has been evaluated in one way or another before you ever see it. When you are using the World Wide Web, none of this applies. There are no filters. Because anyone can write a Web page, documents of the widest range of quality, written by authors of the widest range of authority, are available on an even playing field. Excellent resources reside along side the most dubious. The Internet epitomizes the concept of Caveat lector: Let the reader beware. This document discusses the criteria by which scholars in most fields evaluate print information, and shows how the same criteria can be used to assess information found on the Internet.

What to consider:
Authorship
Publishing body
Point of view or bias
Referral to other sources
Verifiability
Currency
How to distinguish propaganda, misinformation and disinformation
The mechanics of determining authorship, publishing body, and currency on the Internet

Hello, and welcome! I'm in the Calgary area as well, and if you are waiting to see Dr. Cheuk, he is definitely worth the wait! I'm also a Certified Asthma Educator (CAE). Have you been to see a CAE? It's pretty easy to get a referral to see an Educator, even pharmacists can initiate the referral ... and you can get in quickly (I can make a referral, so if you want one ... send me a message). The health region clinics are usually well-equipped with diagnotic equipment too. If you child is under 6 though, it may not be possible to do the testing quite yet. Are you dealing with food allergies or environmental?

Naturopaths, if they order blood testing, are testing for IgG which is not at all accurate in diagnosing food allergies. A person would get different results each week. Most of these tests end up making the child avoid foods needlessly, and are potentially dangerous in terms of nutrition. Also, the "usual suspects" show up as allergic at every naturopath. They seem to strongly believe that everyone is allergic to milk and wheat - granted, both those foods can cause gas and be difficult to digest, but as Susan pointed out, would be considered intolerances in this case.

I said the word "believe" for a reason. Science-based medicine is constantly changing as new research points us in different directions. Naturopaths do not us science-based medicine at all, as research keeps proving that things like IgG and homeopathy don't work ... and yet they don't believe those results, so they just keep going. (Homeopathy is just water ... the website I'm about to point you to covers that as well)

Here's an article I came across recently which pretty much summed it up. It is not opinion, it is a weighing of the evidence. The contributors to this website are not in ANY way paid for their writing, they are all highly respected physcians from various specialties (ie. neurologist, cancer surgeon..) who just want to fight the mis-information that is on the internet. They are also highly sought-after speakers and have been consulted by members of the US Congress and NCAAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) for their advice.

Oh, just another pointer about which websites to trust - any website that is basically selling product from their website ... supplements, for example. Those sites are often filled with propaganda about environmental toxins, etc, and point you in the direction of certain supplements to "boost" immunity to the tune of several hundred dollars. Of course, only theirs works ... because they use special methods ... DO NOT trust those websites.

Sites that have heavy advertising are also not as trustworthy. This is a little tougher though, because many allergy sites sell ads. But any health information is usually coming from a reputable source, like hospitals or board-certified allergists.

Thanks Momtobunches! We have an appointment and are on the cancellation list with one of the allergists at the Associate Clinic. Our ped wouldn't refer us to Dr. Cheuk because he is not part of their clinic. I specifically asked to see him and she said no. We went to Dr. Cheuk's clinic when DS1 was 2 and we didn't see him, but another doctor there. The test was all negative so he was diagnosed with non-allergic rhinitis and that was that. They did suggest coming back in a year, but the ped said no to that as well.

We have a referral to the Asthma clinic at the Children's Hospital, but I hear that it is a 6 to 8 month wait. What does a CAE do (besides the obvious - educate about asthma)? Will this person help with a plan for us? DS1 is 4.5, so testing is pretty much out of the question right now. I can't pinpoint the allergy causing the asthma, so I'm thinking that it is environmental (maybe mold allergy?).

I'm not surprised that everything was negative when he was 2. The environmental allergens often don't show up until at least several seasons of exposure - age 5 and up, due to the variance in pollens between seasons, and the need for repeated exposure before the body determines that it's "evil"!

A typical session with a CAE would last about an hour. We take complete family history, exposure history, do a thorough review of possible triggers, look at treatment history - things like how many times they've been to a hospital, taken prednisone, etc. Sometimes, on a case by case basis, they will even do a home walk-through. Then we review inhaler technique (the #1 cause of treatment failure ... I caught my own nephew blowing INTO an Advair diskus because he had always done that with his aerochamber ). This is where we find most of the problems. After reviewing the whole picture, we can then come up with a recommended Action Plan - red, yellow and green "zones" - and send all the recommendations / findings to the doctor. Most CAE's that work for the health region are affiliated in some way to a specialist - an allergist or respirologist, so they use the CAE's to do all the gruntwork and teaching so they can focus on the more hands-on diagnostics.

I'm a community pharmacist, and unless I have another pharmacist covering for me (almost impossible in this day and age...) I don't have the luxury of doing these types of consultations anymore. But I was pleased to find out from the health region that I can refer to them directly now for those cases that I think warrant it. I've made 1 referral in the past few months, and she said she learned more in that hour than she ever learned from the doctors - because they never had time to talk / educate, and she had never been able to secure a referral to a specialist because he had previously allergy-tested negative, and her son was now 11 years old with uncontrolled asthma. I was pleased that it was virtually identical to what I had told her to expect, but since we are friends, I felt more comfortable sending her to a neutral 3rd party for the assessment. I'm generally supportive of family doctors, but honestly, they do NOT have the time to do the education, and expect that either the pharmacist will teach them, or people will figure it all out.

Anyway, it's worth it if things are uncontrolled, and you do come out of there with a firm plan ... and a record of the visit stays with the health region so that when / if you see a specialist affiliated with ACH, they'll know that you've had that session. If they bother to look in the records, that is.

I saw Dr. Doctor at the Associate Clinic a few months ago for myself, and I was not impressed. He's not a pediatric specialist, by the way, and seemed very, very firm in his beliefts despite evidence to the contrary. I was having unexplained episodes of anaphyactic-type symptoms, and tested negative to everything, like I thought I would, and he dismissed it as "abdominal migraines" or an allergy to ibuprofen. Ummmmm.... never had a reaction to ibuprofen, and didn't take it EVER within hours of the onset of symptoms, but it seemed like since he had no other answers, that was all he could come up with. I know others have had good success with him though, and honestly, I don't know what's wrong with me either .

Wow, I'm not used to Dr's saying "No" to me. I'd tell your Dr that your happy to see her choice if she'd also make a referral to your choice, You are entitled to a second opinion and they probably both have long wait lists!

Perhaps she feels she'd be better kept in the loop if you say the allergist at her clinic?

Thanks everyone for your information and support! Susan, I usually hear the no from the doctor and then go home and realize I should have insisted on my initial request. I've been so overwhelmed with all that's been happening that I have to home and absorb it before realizing what's actually taken place. Then I need to make another appointment with the doctor to get it worked out. Fortunately my gp takes the time to work with what I want and explain why she recommends what she does.

Momtobunches, I am also very glad you put the CAE option out there. I hope others in my situation read this and get the same great information out of it.

You might want to consider bringing a trusted friend or family member with you to help advocate for you.
Think of health care as a team whose goal is to maintain your optimum health. It is not rational to think this would exclude you. In fact, you should be considered the head of the team as all information comes from you (either verbal or physical) and ultimately all decisions end with you.
When you hear No or something to that effect, ask the Dr to explain their reason. What is it about your request that they disagree with, then you can explain why you want it and together find a common ground.

Thanks for the suggestion, Susan, it is a really good one. I think that dh should be joining me for our visits from now on anyway since I think that he relies on me to give him the info too much so far... He is a very good advocate for us too.

As for other friends and family, I don't have family I trust to advocate for us and my friends all seem to have major family issues to deal with themselves. Is there anything like a doula out there for this type of situation?

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